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President lauds Mitic's contribution

The passing of a football legend is always a sad day for the
entire football family and today, its head, FIFA President Joseph
S. Blatter has put his thoughts into writing following the death of
Rajko Mitic.

Mitic, who scored 32 goals in 59 appearances for the former
Yugoslavia, died on Sunday at the age of 85.

In his letter, the FIFA President writes: "Rajko Mitic will
always be remembered for his outstanding contribution to football
during his entire life. He was an international football star for
many years, both with the former Yugoslavian national team as well
as at club level, in particular with FK Crvena Zvezda [Red Star
Belgrade].

"Among his great performances as a player, he won five
domestic titles and four Yugoslavian Cups with FK Crvena Zvezda,
played in the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cups and was a silver
medalist at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Football
Tournaments."

Those two Olympic appearances brought two silver medals for the
man from Dolac village.

When he hung up his boots, Mitic moved into coaching and enjoyed
success for club and country, most notably in 1968 when his
selections helped to take Yugoslavia to a runners-up spot at the
UEFA European Championship.

Upon his retirement in 1983, Mitic renewed acquaintances with
Red Star and he served as a vice-president on the club's board
on two separate occasions.

"On behalf of FIFA and the worldwide family of football, I
wish to extend our condolences to you, to everyone at the Football
Association of Serbia and, most importantly, to Rajko Mitic's
family, friends and loved ones," said Blatter in his
letter.

You can read the full thoughts of the FIFA President by clicking
on the link to the right.